The You I've Never Known(63)

by the booze-flavored drool inside his mouth. His teeth rake my lips and one hand

snares my hair, snaps my head against the mattress.

Don’t fight, baby. I’ll make you feel so good you’ll never want a girl again. Here, check this thing out.

His free hand unzips

his jeans, and just as I start to panic, a familiar voice

interrupts the scene.

I don’t think that’s a good idea.





Suddenly, Forcefully


Garrett is lifted into the air, freeing me. I jump up and

away from the bed. “Gabe!”

He ignores me completely,

too busy with Garrett. What the hell do you think you’re doing?

Garrett doesn’t back down.

What the fuck’s it to you?

I’m just breaking her in a little.

And, hey, if you want, you can take a turn, too. A good screw or two might flip her totally.

Gabe assesses the front

of Garrett’s pants. Breaking her in? With what you’ve got there?

Nah, I don’t think so. What I witnessed looked like assault.

You like forcing yourself on girls?

Garrett shakes his head. Nope.

Can’t assault the willing.

Goddamn cock teaser wanted it.

“That’s a lie! You’re the last

person on this planet I’d want

to have sex with. The last!”

Behind them, backup arrives.

Monica and Syrah in my corner,

Keith, of course, in Garrett’s.

And that makes Garrett a little too eager to force an ugly

confrontation. He forms fists.

You really don’t want to do that, says Gabe, pushing him out of the bedroom, into the hall.

Monica and Syrah hustle out

of the way. Keith, who’s drunk

enough to get brave, steps closer.

Who the hell are you, anyway?

says Garrett, obviously fortified.

I don’t answer to pansy-ass jerk-offs.

Gabe draws himself up, maximizing both height and menace. I’m Ariel’s friend. Friends don’t let friends get raped.

Garrett glances at Keith, who

nods. What’re you gonna do?

asks Garrett. Take both of us on?

Yeah, dickwad, agrees Keith, moving into position on the opposite side of Gabe. You don’t want to do that.





Gabe Sizes Up the Situation


There are two of them,

yes. But they’re wasted,

and I think he senses

that neither is a true threat, at least not on his own.

Still, there are two of them.

Look, I really don’t want to hurt you, no matter how much you deserve it. Why don’t you tuck your teensy pecker back into your pants and get the hell out of here? He takes a step toward Garrett, who’s too dense to

understand what that means,

though he does make sure his pants are zipped. Ooh. I’m so scared.

Come and get me, asshole.

Gabe doesn’t hesitate. He swings a fist straight into Keith’s gut, doubling him over. That enrages Garrett, who wades into Gabe.

That proves to be a huge mistake.





Up Close


Isn’t how you want to observe

a fistfight. Garrett manages to land a punch or two, but this is no contest.

I’m not two feet away from Gabe.

and I can see his eyes glaze over, as if he’s vacating this dimension.

He steps into Garrett and as I watch, I swear he morphs into something

just this side of human, a boxing machine, like those kids’ robots, only full size. Bam, bam, bam! Three straight to the face, and the sound of knuckles connecting to flesh and the bone

beneath makes me wobble. I’ve heard it before, only last time it was Dad’s fist, and the person he was pounding was a woman. Like she did then,

Garrett now lowers his hands, defeated.

And like Dad then, Gabe isn’t finished, throwing a flurry of impressive blows that drop Garrett all the way to the floor, blood and snot pouring from his nose.

The coppery smell gags me, but I manage to choke back the impending vomit.

Meanwhile, Keith has found breath and regained some strength. Stupidly, he ducks his head and charges Gabe, who dances to one side. Keith loses his balance, slips, and bashes his skull against the wall, and Gabe advances.

“Stop!” I yell. “Enough! God, do you want to kill them? Please, just leave them alone. They’re finished, can’t you see that?” I’m shriveling. Shrinking.

Folding up into myself, stumbling backward. I’m a sniveling ten-year-old again, pleading with someone I thought I knew to dig down for his humanity, find mercy, and end the carnage.

It doesn’t matter that he’s doing this to defend me. It’s savage.

I actually feel sorry for Garrett.

Gabe stops, straightens, but when he turns and looks at me, I find

something terrible in his eyes—

satisfaction.





He Bends Over


Careful

to avoid the bodily

fluids on the floor,

lifts Garrett to his feet by the back of his shirt.

Never assume a stranger is a pansy-ass jerk-off.

How about I call you a taxi?